Strong jobs print prevents RBA from cutting rates

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the labour force survey for August, which recorded strong job growth of 47,500 but an unchanged unemployment rate of 4.2%:

However, the underemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 6.5%, and the number of hours worked posted a modest rise of 0.4%.

The participation rate was also unchanged at 67.1%, remaining at a record high.

The rise in jobs also increased the employment-to-population ratio by 0.1% to 64.3%, which is just below the November 2023 historical high of 64.4%.

This is a strong print and should prevent the RBA from contemplating rate cuts.

The boom in government-funded jobs in areas like the NDIS and aged care continues to power the job market: